bichir owners

[Meredith]

I showed my husband a pic of a bichir, and naturally he thinks it is really cool. Can I keep a bichir in a 50 (12x48x20)? If I can, it would have the tank all to itself. Is that just a mean thing to do? I have no plans on getting a larger tank. I really want something different, but I also don't want to risk the health of anything either.

 

[zao]

I have never owned a bichir before. So I don't know that much infomration about them, but I do know they can reach up to a foot in length, and they will eat anything that can fit into there mouths. So being by itself, might be a good thing, Or if you do put other fish in there, make sure they get big enough so that they can't get eatin.

 

[Lance M.]

I'm pretty sure you can keep one in a 50 gallon. Make sure you have a tight hood and cover any holes so it doesn't escape.

 

[nomadofthehills]

Sounds like you have a standard 55g, but either way I think it will work.

 

[Puriti]

From what I've read, they're best in 50 gal or bigger and they're quite the escape artists. T.T I want one....

 

[Fruitbat]

Meredith...

You can keep the 'smaller' species of bichirs successfully in a tank that size. This would include the most commonly available (Polypterus senegalus) as well as some of the other species like Polypterus palmas subspecies (Polypterus palmas palmas, Polypterus palmas buettikoferi or Polypterus palmas polli) and Polypterus retropinnis (if you can FIND one). Of the bunch, I'd recommend Polypterus senegalus and Polypterus palmas polli because in my experience they are the most active of the bichirs. You could also consider the 'other' Polypterid, the Rope Fish (Erpetoichthys calabaricus.

The larger species simply get too big to be housed in a tank that size for life.

You could probably house a couple of the above-mentioned species for life in the tank you describe. You can include some other tankmates, as long as they are too big to be eaten by the bichirs and not so aggressive that they cause damage to the bichirs. Also, 'pleco'-type catfish aren't a very good idea because some individuals develop a taste for the slime on the bichir's scales and will rasp at it until the bichir suffers from potentially fatal skin infections.

Let me know if you need any other information.

-Joe

 

[Meredith]

I really like the look of the palmas polli. How hard are they to get? Is it something I can order through my lfs or online? And that one would be ok in my 55? Can I add one more sentence that has a question mark at the end?

 

[toddnbecka]

Check with your lfs, if they can't get one, try aquabid.com. I've kept a couple of P. ornatipinnis over the years, as single specimens. Bichers are territorial among their own kind when they mature, . They are fine with other fish too large to eat. The last one I had chowed down some young Synodontis catfish, spines and all. If it will fit in their mouth, they will eat it. Feeding live food, like goldfish, will make them grow faster.

 

[Fruitbat]

Polypterus palmas polli is one of the more commonly-available bichirs and your LFS should be able to locate one somewhere. If not, I can recommend Toyin at Rehoboth Aquatics ( http://www.rehobothaquatics.com ) as a good on-line supplier for many species of bichir.

I have not had toddnbecka's experience in keeping bichirs together, and I've kept many of them over the years. While certain individuals may be a bit 'snappy', especially at feeding time, I don't consider them to be particularly territorial. All of my bichir tanks have multiple specimens (usually of multiple species) in them. I also do not recommend using live fish (especially goldfish) as a food source for bichirs unless the feeder fish have been quarantined for at least two weeks before feeding them to the bichirs. Goldfish are particularly bad among the commonly-used feeder fish because they contain a high level of an enzyme called 'thiaminase' which breaks down an essential vitamin (thiamine) and can cause a vitamin deficiency in fish that are fed largely or exclusively on goldfish.

-Joe

 

[Meredith]

I have never had anything large enough that would eat live fish, but I have heard so many horror stories here about feeder goldfish, I don't think I would try it.
I am SO excited! I am pretty sure this is the way I am going to go.
I have been doing a bit of research online but I would like to get my hands on a book about these guys. Any recommendations?

 

[Fruitbat]

Meredith....

Unfortunately there are very few books that have much information about bichirs.

Probably the best available (though out of print, it can be found on Amazon.com) is Jurassic Fishes by Kotera, et al. It is a T.F.H. book and has information on bichirs, bony-tongues (arowanas, arapaima, etc.), Mormyrids, Gars, FW Stingrays, etc. There are some inaccuracies in identification of the bichir pictures but the general text is pretty good.

For a good picture book showing all of the species (and subspecies) of Polypterus and Erpetoichthys there is the Aqualog Polypterus book by Frank Schafer. While I don't agree with some of his taxonomy, he does have excellent pictures of all of the types of bichir and a little bit of information on recognition and husbandry. This book is quite expensive!

The new T.F.H. Encyclopedia of Exotic Tropical Fishes (Axelrod and Scott) has a small (by no means exhaustive) section on bichirs but somehow the text to accompany the picture of Polypterus palmas polli got mixed up with that for a swordtail or platy. Other than that minor annoyance, the book is a nice resource to have for all aspects of fish-keeping.

-Joe